एष उ एव साम; वाग्वै सा, आमैष, सा चामश्चेति तत्साम्नः सामत्वम् । यद्वेव समः प्लुषिणा, समो मशकेन, समो नागेन, सम एभिस्त्रिभिर्लोकैः, समोऽनेन सर्वेण, तस्माद्वेव साम; अश्नुते साम्नः सायुज्यं सलोकताम् य एवमेतत्साम वेद ॥ २२ ॥
eṣa u eva sāma; vāgvai sā, āmaiṣa, sā cāmaśceti tatsāmnaḥ sāmatvam | yadveva samaḥ pluṣiṇā, samo maśakena, samo nāgena, sama ebhistribhirlokaiḥ, samo’nena sarveṇa, tasmādveva sāma; aśnute sāmnaḥ sāyujyaṃ salokatām ya evametatsāma veda || 22 ||
22. This alone is also Sāman. Speech is indeed Sā, and this is Ama. Because it is Sā (speech) and Ama (vital force), therefore Sāman is so called. Or because it is equal to a white ant, equal to a mosquito, equal to an elephant, equal to these three worlds, equal to this universe, therefore this is also Sāman. He who knows this Sāman (vital force) to be such attains union with it, or lives in the same world as it.
This alone is also Sāman. How? This is being explained: Speech is indeed Sā, whatever is denoted by feminine words is speech, for the pronoun Sā (she) refers to all objects denoted by them. Similarly this vital force is Ama. The word ‘Ama’ refers to all objects denoted by masculine words. For another Śruti says, ‘How do you get my masculine names? He should reply: Through the vital force. And how my
feminine names? Through speech’ (Kau. I. 7). So this word ‘Sāman’ denotes speech and the vital force. Again, the word ‘Sāman’ denotes a chant consisting only of a combination of tones etc. that are produced by the vital force. Hence there is nothing called Sāman except the vital force and speech, for the tone, syllables, etc. are produced by the vital force and depend on it. ‘This’ vital force ‘alone is also Sāman,’ because what is generally known as Sāman is a combination of speech and the vital force, Sā and Ama. Therefore Sāman, the chant consisting of a combination of tones etc., is so called, wellknown in the world.
Or because it is equal in all those respects to be presently mentioned, therefore this is also Sāman. This is the construction. The word ‘or’ is gathered on the strength of the alternative reason indicated for the derivation of the word ‘Sāman.’ In what respects is the vital force equal? This is being answered: Equal to the body of a white ant, equal to the body of a mosquito, equal to the body of an elephant, equal to these three worlds, i.e. the body of Virāj, equal to this universe, i.e. the form of Hiraṇyagarbha. The vital force is equal to all these bodies such as that of the white ant in the sense that it is present in its entirety in them, as the essential characteristics of a cow (Gotva) are present in each individual cow. It cannot be merely of the size of these bodies, for it is formless and all-pervading. Nor does the equality mean just filling up those bodies by contraction or expansion like lamplight in a jar, a mansion, etc. For the Śruti says, ‘These are all equal, and all infinite’ (I. v. 13). And there is nothing inconsistent in an all-pervading principle assuming in different bodies their particular size. He who knows this Sāman, i.e. the vital force called Sāman because of its equality, whose glories are revealed by the Vedas, to be such, gets this result: attains union with it, identification with the same body and organs as the vital force, or lives in the same world as it, according to the difference in meditation. This is meant to be the result of meditation continued till identity with the vital force is established.